


Setting The Record Straight

by Leni



Series: The Kindness of Strangers [8]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 20:52:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8175796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: Alternate version of "Desperate Souls". (Set in The Kindness of Strangers)
When Rumpelstiltskin cannot afford to be suspected as an arsonist, he must find other ways to win Storybrooke over to Emma's side. His wife is not happy with it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for of-princes-and-savages. Prompt: alphabet / Letter B

Biting his lip not to laugh out loud, Rumpelstiltskin watched as their newly elected Sheriff took a wary step away from his wife. The sheriff's station should have been a place where Emma was at her most confident, but instead her eyes darted between the angry brunette before her and the door, pausing only briefly to glare at him and his position so close to the entrance, standing as another obstacle to an attempted escape. 

Not that she would easily walk past Belle. His wife had a mild temper, even under Regina's curse, but since the arrival of their future savior, it could be roused under the right circumstances.

Emma just happened to have stumbled straight into them.

He himself had already stepped on some of those dormant landmines. After twenty-eight years of apathy, those moments were welcome as a sign that change had come to Storybrooke. Even if Rumpelstiltskin was still coming to terms with the high heels Belle's cursed version had adopted, and which brought his wife nose-to-nose with him whenever they were having an argument.

The few extra inches didn't make an impression on the Sheriff.

That was all Belle.

The girl's face once Belle had listed her transgressions! Well, it warmed even an old man's heart, that the woman he loved took such careful watch over his reputation.

"Mrs. Gold. I...."

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Miss Swan," Belle snapped, as outraged now as when she'd first heard about the town meeting of the night before. "Listening to gossip, spreading those lies... How dare you stand up before everybody and repeat that filth? Of all people, you should know better!" 

"Excuse me?"

Belle's jaw jutted out. "Did you like the article The Mirror ran about your past?"

At that, Emma's face turned into a hunted expression. "I thought I was doing you a favor!"

With a bitter edge even Rumpelstiltskin cringed at hearing, Belle laughed. "You're kidding. You insult my husband. You paint me as a fool and a coward, and oh, I must be an awful mother as well, if I let my kids live with such a father."

"Mrs. Gold, I never-." Emma had the grace to stop herself and look abashed. Because, even if she hadn't said the words, by announcing to the town that she couldn't accept Mr. Gold's sponsorship in the race for the Sheriff's election and citing as a main reason that he was the kind of man that needed to be watched the most, given his shady deals and abusive behavior toward his family, she _had_ implied that Lily Gold was no more than a doormat in her own home. "I thought I had the facts. I was under a deadline, and I made my choice with what I had. I'm sorry."

The Sheriff's wretched expression would have been enough to soften Belle's heart (and Lily's, too), if the party most offended wasn't her husband. As always when she came to his defense, Rumpelstiltskin basked in his wife's dignified anger.

"I'm not the one to whom you need to apologize," Belle said.

Emma pursed her mouth.

Her hesitation cost her a finger wagged in her direction. For a moment it threatened to become a poke in the arm, and that had Emma scowling while Rumpelstiltskin's senses rose to an alert, ready to come between the two women. But Belle started speaking instead. "My husband deserves better than to become the talk of the town without even being present to defend himself. He's a good, kind man; the best husband and father; and fairer in his contracts than this sorry town deserves."

Rumpelstiltskin raised his head, smiling contently at Belle's heartfelt description. Years ago, he would have claimed that it was her optimism talking, all hopes and none of the harsh reality; but making a life with Belle, watching her love his children and promise not to hate him for looking for his firstborn, had convinced him otherwise.

It was impossible not to preen under Belle's praise.

Emma glanced over at him, eyebrow raised in doubt.

Rumpelstiltskin smirked in response.

That prompted the Sheriff to huff her disbelief.

Belle heaved a sigh without bothering to turn around. "That's not helping, Albert."

Rumpelstiltskin crinkled his nose - more at the false name than the chiding - but smoothed his face into an expression of innocence. "Oh, but I'm nothing but helpful, sweetheart."

Belle relaxed, a hint of true laughter in her voice. "Of course you are."

Meanwhile the Sheriff was staring between them, and Rumpelstiltskin knew the look of someone who was wrapping their mind around the idea of the beautiful, young woman in love with, well, _him_. Cursed or human, he didn't look Belle's match and everyone but Belle herself was aware of it.

Luckily, he had learned to care only for Belle's opinion on the matter. 

As the Sheriff blinked herself out of the realization that the man the whole town had taken pains to warn her about, was in fact a beloved husband, Rumpelstiltskin took the chance to approach Belle and draw his left arm around her waist. "I think Miss Swan has taken your point, my dear," he told her, loud enough that Emma would hear him.

Without further prompting, Emma nodded. "I _am_ sorry, Mrs. Gold. I never meant to upset you. And, Gold," she continued, flicking her eyes to him, chin held high stubbornly, "I'm sorry for any distress I might have caused you."

He had to squeeze Belle's side to stop her from jumping back into the fray. Emma had clearly inherited her character from the ignorant shepherd and the brash thief her parents had been, and little from the king and queen they'd become. "It's all right," he whispered in Belle's ear, kissing the rim of her earlobe reassuringly. "Give me a moment and I'll deal with this."

Belle gave him a searching look, but nodded, then turned toward the Sheriff. "It was--- well." She shrugged, as always unwilling to lie just for property's sake. This meeting had not been a pleasure, and there was no point in pretending. "I'm sure we will meet again, Miss Swan. Until then."

Rumpelstiltskin was chuckling to himself as Belle left the room, only lifting an eyebrow when he noticed the glare directed at him. "Yes?"

Emma narrowed her eyes. "You set me up."

He straightened, balancing with both hands now on his cane. "I don't see how I could have done that, dearie, given I had taken my family for a long weekend in our cabin. Lily's fond of nature, you see."

The girl shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not sure. But I know when someone is lying to me."

Rumpelstiltskin clicked his tongue. "Is my wife a liar, then?"

"No," Emma said, though it was obvious she hated to have to admit that.

"Then it must be your sources for... such tales that drew a most unflattering picture of me, that didn't tell the truth."

Emma shook her head again. "They believed every word."

"My, what a quandary. Surrounded by honest people, and with no idea what the truth is." Rumpelstiltskin grinned. "Lucky for you, that everybody loved to hear out loud what they dare only whisper in corners. Not even Glass could be that intrepid. That speech of yours, so honest, so condemning of yours truly... It did win them over." He gave a small bow of amused recognition. "Congratulations... Sheriff."

Emma's eyes widened in shock. "You wanted me to win their votes?"

"Miss Swan," he said patiently, "I did offer to sponsor you. That's usually a sign of support, you know."

"You knew I wouldn't accept a cent without asking about you. You knew what people would tell me. You put yourself beyond reach! Took along the only person who would have defended you!" Her voice rose with each sentence. " _You set me up_."

Rumpelstiltskin stared at her, unable to stop himself from smiling. There had been so few opportunities, in the last years he'd been conscious, to push events and lead people along the path most convenient to him. Without the Dark One's curse fueling his power, he had needed to restrain himself and choose his steps carefully. But in this world without magic, replacing Regina's discarded pet with Emma had not been too much of a challenge. "You chose to run for Sheriff, dearie. I would have figured you'd be happier with your triumph."

"Whatever it is you want from me," she snarled, "you won't get it. I don't owe you shit, Gold."

"Just do your job, Miss Swan," he said earnestly, already turning away to join his wife in the car. "Believe me, all I want from you, is that you do exactly what you are meant to do."

 

The End  
01/10/16


End file.
